Parks offer outdoor escape in pandemic

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This article was published 30/03/2020 (2180 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeggers have been seeking wide-open spaces with recent mild weather, but amid the novel coronavirus pandemic some are concerned those using local parks aren’t practising safe social distancing.

Assiniboine Park had its fair share of visitors Monday, with many saying they were just happy to get out and enjoy some fresh air. The City of Winnipeg announced Friday all city-owned parks would remain open, but amenities such as play structures would be closed.

Pat Davidson was using her break from work to take a quick walk around the west Winnipeg green space Monday and said she was “very happy” it remained open.

“I think it’s important to keep people’s morale up during this time, let them get a breath of fresh air and get some exercise in,” she said.

Signage at the entrance of Assiniboine Park reminded visitors to maintain social distancing — something Davidson said she hadn’t witnessed consistently. “It is difficult to maintain the social distance; I’ve seen some people are, and some people aren’t.”

Davidson said it may just be a matter of getting caught up in the moment.

“I think maybe they forget about it when they’re out in the fresh air, thinking the fresh air’s going to blow the germs away,” she said. “It’s probably just good for blowing the cobwebs away.”

Some park visitors were concerned the warmer weather will bring too many people out prematurely.

Ashley Brasca said he and his family had come to the park after having been in self-isolation for two weeks and found it easy to keep their distance.

“I felt like there’s a lot of space in the park right now, and if you’re kind of conscientious, you should have no trouble finding your own little bit of space and staying enough of a distance away from people,” he said.

“However, I guess as it gets a little warmer, there’s going to be more and more people, which becomes more and more of a challenge to kind of maintain that distance.”

Despite this, Brasca said he was happy city parks were remaining open, and hoped they stay open in the coming weeks.

“It’s kind of essential for people to be able to have a space to get out a little beyond their own backyards,” he said. “Many people don’t even have an outdoor space, so it’s pretty crucial, I think.”

Meanwhile, Davidson, who identified herself as a health-care professional, encouraged people to come out and enjoy the weather, as long as they were willing to stay vigilant.

“You can only control what you can — so you make sure you’re six feet away from people. I zig-zagged back and across the sidewalk just to make sure I’m six feet away,” she said. “Thank God (the paths are) so wide, that’s helpful.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_